Directed by Cédric Jimenez, who has already made his mark with La French and Novembre, Bac Nord is a crime thriller that plunges viewers into the heart of Marseille's northern neighborhoods, known for their high crime rate. The film, which debuted on Netflix on May 7, 2024, presents an intense and provocative study of the limits of law and ethics, carried by actors such as Gilles Lellouche, François Civil and Karim Leklou.
The story follows the members of the Marseille Nord Anti-Criminality Brigade(BAC). In 2012, these police officers are under constant pressure to improve their performance in one of France's most difficult areas. Faced with rampant crime, they are often tempted to cross the yellow line to maintain order. However, their unorthodox methods end up attracting the attention of the legal system, which turns against them, placing them in a perilous situation.
Bac Nord will appeal to fans of crime thrillers and those interested in the moral dilemmas faced by law enforcement officers. The film stands out for its uncompromisingly realistic approach to the challenges faced by police officers in high-crime areas. By exploring the gray areas of justice and ethics, the film poses provocative questions about the price of security and order.
With its arrival on Netflix on May 7, 2024, Bac Nord promises to captivate an even wider audience. The film boasts powerful performances, notably from Gilles Lellouche, and a mise-en-scène that palpably captures the pressure and intensity of police work. Bac Nord is a major addition to Cédric Jimenez's filmography, offering a captivating and often disturbing look at the reality of police work in tough neighborhoods.
Our opinion on Bac Nord (2020):
It's hard to talk about Bac Nord without comparing it to Olivier Marchal's Bronx... Whereas Marchal's Bronx deals with the police's troubles with the mafias in a clean, uncluttered Marseille, Bac Nord takes us to the heart of the red-light district, to the housing estates of the northern suburbs, where residents and police alike are powerless to cope with local delinquency and riffraff.
The film poses a real social question: can we still clean up the streets where drug dealers rule exclusively by legal means, while criminals will do anything to protect their territory?
While the film is reminiscent of Ladj Ly's Les Misérables, the director's (Cédric Jimenez) bias is to show rather sympathetic cops who have a real desire to change things in their city and punish crime! To satisfy their superiors, they have to cross the yellow line, until the system turns against them and they're held to account.
The film captures the harshness of the neighborhoods, the difficulty of maintaining order, and the frequent escalation of tension between the cops and the young suburbanites! Even the viewer feels the palpable stress and adrenaline of the confrontations.
We discover the city as it really is, with its petty deals, dirty alleyways and street vendors. The actors are sincere and touching! At every turn, we see helpless cops trying to make the area with the highest crime rate in France safer.
In short, Bac Nord is a captivating film that deals with a real social problem, and opens the debate on the usefulness and resources of the police in red-light districts.
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